


the penguins in the zoo (want you to take a break)

by rhyol1te



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Mentions of the other Amis - Freeform, vague allusions to modern politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-06 05:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21221396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhyol1te/pseuds/rhyol1te
Summary: Courfeyrac has a Plan. He's going to force Enjolras (and Combeferre, but it's Enjolras that's the real issue here) to go to the zoo with him, look at the penguins, and take a break from the constant work schedule they seem to have.My fic for the Les Mis Halloween Exchange 2019





	the penguins in the zoo (want you to take a break)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pennysparrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/gifts).

> For Pennysparrow, for the Les Mis Halloween Exchange 2019.
> 
> This is set in the US, since that's the country whose politics I know well enough to vaguely allude to. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Edited 3/20/20, because somehow I missed that I'd put the story in here twice. Oops!)

They are technically supposed to be in a meeting right now, looking at Grantaire and Jehan's designs for the fliers that they'll be handing out at the upcoming climate protest. 

They are, technically, not supposed to be staying on the subway for a few stops more, but Courfeyrac has distracted Enjolras enough that he ignores the announcement for the stop they _ should _ be getting off at, and bribed Combeferre to not tell him where they're going, and to look at the flier designs yesterday. 

It was a good bargain, even though it means that Courfeyrac's going to be doing the dishes for the next month and a half. Combeferre knows how to drive a hard bargain.

"...and then," Enjolras says to the old lady sitting next to him, "we have a series of protests, building on the publicity from the one we're planning -" he breaks off, mid-sentence, and turns to Combeferre. "Wait - did we pass our stop?"

Combeferre looks at Courfeyrac.

Courfeyrac hesitates for a minute. "Yeah, technically. But we're not going there now!"

Enjolras wrinkles his forehead. "Are Grantaire and Jehan meeting us somewhere else? At the," he checks the map on the wall, "botanical gardens? Or the zoo? Or the," he wrinkles his nose, "touristy area?"

"Noooo," Courfeyrac says. "But _ we’re _ meeting there! Not the touristy areas, though."

Enjolras looks confused. "What about the fliers? And Jehan and Grantaire?"

"I looked at them yesterday," Combeferre says. "They're as good as all of Grantaire and Jehan's fliers are. I'll send them to you later."

"What about now?" Enjolras asks, looking at Courfeyrac, as if he's not responsible for this entire thing and might make Combeferre email him the flier designs immediately.

"Nope," Courfeyrac says, "We're going to the zoo!"

Enjolras looks at the subway map again, and Courfeyrac can almost feel him trying to find the fastest way to get to the Musain and the fliers.

"Come on," Combeferre says. "One three hour trip to the zoo -"

"To see their new insect exhibit," Courfeyrac cuts in.

"- to see their new insect exhibit," Combeferre agrees, "And to the botanical gardens -"

"And possibly a snack."

"- and possibly a snack, and then we can go back to the Musain and work on stuff for the protest," Combeferre pauses, and glances at Courfeyrac.

Courfeyrac raises his hands to the ceiling. "What?"

"Sorry," Combeferre says, not actually sorry. "I thought you were going to add something."

"What? Me? Interrupt someone to say what they're forgetting?"

"He would _ never _ ," Enjolras says with a face that is determinedly _ not _ laughing. (He’s laughing.)

"Right," Combeferre says. "We'll do that, and then we can go back to work."

"You should, dear," the old lady sitting next to Enjolras says. "Breaks are important."

Enjolras looks at her. "You too?"

The old lady grins. So do Combeferre and Courfeyrac.

"Breaks are important," Courfeyrac says.

"Alright, fine," Enjolras says.

Before they get off the subway, Enjolras hands the old lady one of the business cards that Marius printed for Les Amis, which seems a lot less silly in hindsight. Granted, getting _three thousand _ of them printed was a bit much. If he's been Marius he would have gotten a lot fewer, Courfeyrac decides. 

He stops thinking about Marius and business cards before he is possessed by Marius's luck (or Bossuet’s, for that matter) and trips on the stairs.

~~~

They chatter on the way to the botanical gardens, talking mostly about work, but also about moths, and the embroidery class that Jehan has decided that Courfeyrac is going to take. At first Enjolras - and Combeferre, to some degree - have the air of people who would really rather be looking at fliers, but Courfeyrac is soon able to fix _ that. _

"Maybe I'll embroider a moth," he says, avoiding stepping on a bold pigeon that's come to see if he has any food.

"I'll only hang it if it's anatomically correct," Combeferre says, glancing at the pigeon.

"Nope," Courfeyrac says. "It's getting googly eyes."

"Glitter too," Enjolras says. "It needs glitter."

"Enjolras!" Courfeyrac says. "I never knew that you'd been converted to the Glitter Side!"

"I was trapped," Enjolras says. "Not converted. It was when Jehan sent that glitter bomb in the mail last month."

"I heard that they glitter bombed their neighbor, too," Combeferre says, because the three of them are little more than gossipy high school students at heart. "The one with the 'Trump 2020' sign in his window."

Enjolras frowns at the mention of Trump, and mutters something about a ‘tangerine toddler’ but grins when he hears that the glitter-filled envelope had contained a note with the words 'I hope it takes you a year to clean the glitter up, you bigoted fuck' in it.

~~~

Only Enjolras has to pay for a ticket to the zoo; both Courfeyrac and Combeferre are members. Courfeyrac for the penguins, and Combeferre because of the insects.

"C'mon," Courfeyrac says over the sound of screaming parrots, once Enjolras has bought his ticket and they're safely inside. "Let's go see the penguins."

"Okay," Enjolras says, bemused but following them.

"Is this your first time here?" Combeferre asks, eyes narrowing behind his glasses. Enjolras, in his opinion, looks a little bit to blasé about the penguins for someone who _must _have seen them before.

"No!" Enjolras says, too quickly. "There was... one time. Where we were passing out flyers. I think."

Courfeyrac shakes his head. "Now we _ really _ have to see the penguins."

~~~

"They're very nice," Enjolras says, looking at the penguins.

Courfeyrac doesn't reply, because his face is smashed up against the glass of the enclosure.

~~~

They don't end up having time to go to the botanical gardens, because Enjolras refused to move for a good twenty minutes in the butterfly exhibit after one of the butterflies had landed on his head. It means that they're still there close enough to feeding time for Courfeyrac to drag them to see the penguins being fed, though, which is good.

"Worth it?" Courfeyrac asks Enjolras, once they're safely out of the zoo and on the subway home.

"Yeah," Enjolras says, grinning. "Although I still am going to double check those flyers."

"You wound me!" Courfeyrac says. "As if you don't think that I could approve flyers on my own!"

"I've seen enough glittery flyers to know that that's true," Enjolras says, grin widening.

Combeferre laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> Both comments and kudos make me super happy! <3


End file.
